Oarlock



p 6, 1950 L. E. SLAVIN 2,523,849

7 OARLOCK Filefi Feb. 19, 1948 Lawrence. E. .Slaw'n INVENTOR.

Patented Sept. 26, 1950 OARLOCK V V Lawrence E. Slavin, Homer, Territory of Alaska Application February 19, 1948, Serial No. 9,440

This invention relates to new and useful improvements and structural refinements in car locks for row boats, and the like, and the principal object of the invention is to facilitate retraction of the oar locks below the gunwale of the boat when not required, so that they do not protrude and interfere while the boat is being docked.

This object is achieved by the provision of an oar lock assembly which is securable to the gun- Wale of the boat and includes an oar receiving socket swingable from an upwardly projected position to a retracted position below the gunwale, as will be hereinafter more fully described.

An important feature of the invention resides in: the provision of an oar lock which is simple in construction, which may be quickly, easily and conveniently manipulated, and which will not readily become damaged.

Another feature of the invention resides in the provision of an oar lock which will readily lend itself to economical manufacture and which is otherwise well adapted for the purpose for which it is intended.

, With the above more important objects and features in view and such other objects and features as may become apparent as this proceeds, the invention consists essentially of the arrangement and construction of parts as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the invention,

designated generally by the reference character ID, the same embodying in its construction a horizontally elongated housing I2 including a pair of spaced side plates I4 secured by bolts Hi to a pair of end blocks l8.

These end blocks may, if desired, be provided at their upper ends with outwardly angulated ears 20, through which suitable bolts or screws 22 may be passed for the purposes of securing the entire oar lock to the ribs 24 of the boat hull 26, adjacent the gunwale 28.

A transverely extending pin 38 is secured in the side plates [4 of the housing l2 and a disk 32, provided with a circumferential flange 84, is

3 Claims. (01. 9-26) 1 STATES PATENT OFFICE pivotally mounted on the'pin 38, one of the aforementioned end blocks l8 being recessed, if desired as indicated at 36, to facilitate pivotal movement of the disk by providing clearance for the flange 34 thereof, as will be clearly apparent.

The flange 34 of the disk 32 is formed integrally with a cam-surfaced portion or protuberance 38, while a coacting cam-surfaced portion 40 is formed integrally with an oar-receiving socket 42 of more-or-less conventional type. The camsurfaced portion 40 of the socket 42 is, in turn, provided with a'screw threaded shank 44 which extends rotatably through the cam-surfaced portion 38 and through the flange 34 of the disk 32, carrying at its inner end portion a compression spring 46 and an adjusting nut 48.

The spring 48 urges the cam-surfaced portions 38, 40 in frictional engagement, and the cam-surfaces of these two portions are so configurated that the socket 44 is thereby'urged to be normally disposed in the plane of the disk 32. That is to say, the socket 42 is normally disposed in the plane of the disk 32, but the socket may oscillate, so to speak, about the axis of the shank 44 with the movement of the oar.

The socket 42 is swingable from its upwardly projected position to a retracted position below the gunwale 28, as shown by the phantom lines 50. This is facilitated by the pivotal movement of the disk 32 on the pin 30, the cam-surfaced portions 38, 40 assuring that the socket 42 is normally disposed in the plane of the disk 32, so that it may recede to its retracted position (50) in the housing I2. Means are provided for urging the socket into its retracted position, said means comprising a spiral spring 52, one end of which is anchored in a slot 54 provided in the flange 34 of the disk 32, while the remaining end of the spring is similarly anchored in. a slot 56 formed in the pin 30. It is to be noted that the spring 52 is wound in such manner as to urge the socket 42 to its retracted position, illustrated at 58.

The flange 34 of the disk 32 is provided with a notch 58 and with an outwardly projecting lug 68, the latter being engageable with one of the aforementioned end blocks l8 and thereby retainin the socket 42 in a substantially upright position, as shown in the accompanying drawings. That is to say, the lug 6U prevents the socket 42 from swinging in a clockwise direction beyond its upright position, and releasable means are also provided for preventing the socket from Y swinging in an anti-clockwise direction to its retracted position shown at 50.

These last mentioned means include a trigger 62 pivoted upon a pin 64 mounted in the housing I2, a spiral spring 66, mounted upon a further pin 68 in the housing, urging an end portion of the trigger 62 against the flange 34 of the disk 32 and in engagement with the aforementioned notch 58 when the socket 42 is in its upright position.

Accordingly, when the invention is placed in use, the socket 42 is, upwardly projected, in which position it is retained by the engagement of the lug 60 with one of the end blocks I8, and by the engagement of the trigger 62 with the notch '58, as is best shown in Figure 2.

However, when the oar lock is not required,

thereby permitting the spring 52 to rotatethe disk 32 on the pin 30, so that the socket 82 is brought to its retracted position within thehousing I2, as indicated at 50.

Needless to. say, the. socket may be projected for subsequent use by simply,withdrawingit from the housing 12 against the resiliency of the spring 52, until the-trigger 62 again engages the notch 58. A suitable finger piece '50 may be provided on the socket, to facilitate its withdrawal.

It is believed that the advantages and use of the invention will be clearly apparent from the foregoing disclosure and accordingly, further description thereof at this point is deemed unnecessary.

While in theforegoing there has been shown and; described the preferred embodiment of this invention it is to be understood that minor changes in the details of construction and arrangement of parts may ber'esorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

- Having described the claimed as new is;

1. An oar lock comprising, a pair of spaced sideplates forming a housing attachable to the gunwaile of. a boat, a pinmounted in said side plates, a flanged disc pivotedon saidipin, an oarreceiving socket, pivoted to the flange ofsaid disc, a spiral springanchored to saiddisc and to invention, what is 15 the trigger 62 is disengaged from the notch 58,

disc. said'rneans comprising a cam-surfaced portion on said socket, a coacting cam-surfaced portion on the flange of said disc, and a compression spring for urging said portions together.

3. In an oar lock, the combination of a housing adapted to be attached to the gunwale of a boat, a pin extending transversely in said housing, an oar socket supporting member rotatably mounted on said pin, an oar socket pivoted to said member for swinging movement about an axis perpendicular to the axis of the pin, said member being rotatable from a position wherein said socket projects upwardly from said housing to a position wherein the socket is retracted in the housing, resilient means for rotating said member and said socket to the retracted position, means for locking the member and the socket in the projected position, and additional means for swinging said socket on said member to a position wherein it is substantially parallel to the plane of rotation of said member.

LAWRENCE E. SLAVIN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 661,326 Spates Nov. 6, 1900 1,599,200 Bell Sept. '7, 1926 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 394,094 Great Britain June 22, 1933 

